If you like it, save it!

If you like something…

Author Notes: They eat the pig, all the pig in Milan. This is my (simplified) version of a classic. Don't knock it til you try it! —Sippity Sup (Greg Henry)

Serves 8

1 whole pig's trotter (foot)

1 pig's ear (available in an Asian market if nowhere else)

4ounces raw pork rind

1/4cup olive oil

1/4cup unsalted butter

2 onions, roughly chopped

1 medium shallot minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

vegetable stock

3pounds spare ribs

10ounces Luganega sausage,cut into 2-inch lengths

4 small mild salami, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds

1/2cup dry white wine, plus more for deglazing

3 carrota cut into 1-inch x 1/4-inch batons

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced crosswise

1tablespoon tomato paste

2tablespoons water

1 savoy cabbage sliced into 1/2-inch ribbons

1teaspoon lemon zest

12 sage leaves, chopped

1 sprig rosemary

2teaspoons anise seeds

1teaspoon juniper berries

1teaspoon whole black pepper corns

16 baked polenta slices

Working over the burner of a gas range flame the trotter, ear, and rinds to remove any hairs that remain. Let them cool and wipe them clean with a cloth. Split the trotter, lengthwise, using a cleaver if necessary, and cut the ear and rinds into strips. Boil them in lightly salted water for an hour, by which point the fat will be rendered out of them. Drain. Set aside to cool.

Heat the oil and the butter in a large saute pan. Add the onion, shallots and garlic and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Chop the trotter into small pieces. Add it, the sliced pig's ear and rinds to the onion mixture. Season well with salt and pepper. Add enough vegetable stock to cover the mixture and cook, over medium-low heat, until the liquid has reduced by half.

In a separate large Dutch oven brown the ribs and set them aside. Then brown the the Luganega sausage, and the salami lightly. Return the ribs to the pan and then sprinkle the meat with white wine and cook over a moderate flame until the liquid is evaporated. Remove the meat from the pan, then deglaze the pan with a bit more wine. Add the carrots and celery, together with the tomato paste and about 2 tablespoons of water. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the reserved onion, trotter, ear, and rind mixture along with the sliced cabbage. Then lay the ribs and sausage over the top of it. Sprinkle in the lemon zest, chopped sage leaves, rosemary sprig, fennel seeds, dried juniper berries and whole black pepper corns. Add enough additional stock to bring the liquid to about halfway up the side of the pot. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, skimming and stirring the pot as needed. NOTE: During this period, the trotters and rinds will have begun to break down. Additional stock may be needed to keep a loose, glutinous consistency.

To serve: Lay a couple slices of baked polenta on the bottom of a low soup plate. Ladle the cassoeula over the slices making sure to get a few sausages and ribs onto each bowl.